We are back to homeschooling... after a LONG "lesson" with two of my "babies" Lucy and Lisa.
Don’t buy a puppy unless you are bored, and/or long to have a
baby but can’t. Puppies take a lot of
time, commitment and training. I wouldn’t recommend a puppy if you’re trying to
have a baby either… you could end up with TWO “babies,” with totally different
needs. I’m guessing you would probably want to commit the time to your human
baby. I’m serious when I say, puppies
are A LOT of work! Cute and cuddly, and so
hard to resist; However, they grow up very VERY fast!…. The work, time, and commitment
is there for their life-time. Owning a
dog is something you should not enter into lightly…. As we did. I’m thankful we took this on when I’m home
all day…. This little girl (puppy) has turned our lives upside down. We love her, but thankful we have the TIME to dedicate to her training.
We were very familiar with dog ownership, since our last dog
we raised was over twelve years old. However,
we rescued him and adopted him from the humane society when he was eighteen
months old. Potty trained, neutered and well on his way to being trained and well
behaved; we didn’t really experience the “joys” of puppy life. We knew the commitment of dog ownership, the
money and time involved, the time needed for walks, play and baths… but the
puppy training was NOT something we gave much thought... Until Lucy.
Meet our newest addition, Lucy. We named her that not only because of her red
hair, but because of her goofy theatrics and clumsy character. Lucy is a Goldendoodle (half golden
retriever and half poodle)… We brought her home when she was eight weeks
old. So if you’re wondering where I have
been (why I haven’t been blogging), my time has been consumed raising our
newest “baby” / puppy.
Lesson 1 - Puppies take a lot of TIME and patience.
Lesson 2 - Use puppy pads for potty training.
Lesson 3 - Be ready for getting up multiple times in the middle
of the night, to go stand outside in the damp cold night. They need to go outside
(with accompaniment) every two hours.
Lesson 4 - Puppies
chew…. on EVERYTHING! – Keep things up!
Lesson 5 - Gate off a section of your house (don’t allow
them to roam). – A crate works well at night (they like to feel secure in a “den”).
Lesson 6 - Don’t let him/her out of your site unless she’s
confined (while she’s a puppy).
Lesson 7 - If you do let her out of you sight then don’t be
mad at her when she makes a mess (expect it and deal with it with love and
patience (you were warned in lesson 5).
Lesson 8 - Training… Training… Training!! – Spend time
TRAINGING your puppy EVERY DAY.
Lesson 9 - Teach them young
(training) not to jump up, or nip (bite). They like to knaw on everything because
their adult teen are coming in. Training them very young not to jump or nip will
help others (visitors / outsiders) grow to love your dog.
Lesson 10 - Provide lots of toys. Dollar Tree has a great
selection of stuffed animals, treats and doggy toys, very inexpensive.
Lesson 11 - Skip Puppy Kindergarten… Save your money. Train your dog at home, take your dog to the
park or to visit friends, kids and other dogs for “socialization.” Buy a book,
or look up dog training on Youtube, and work with him/her yourself. At three months old our puppy already knew
the “basics” and we were doing well socializing her… but I signed her up for
Puppy Kindergarten because I was new at this puppy stuff and thought they knew
what they were doing and could do a better job…. When she got around the other
(unruly) puppies she started misbehaving.
There is something to be said about “you become what you hang with”….
She started to develop bad habits as she watched the other naughty puppies…. The teacher didn’t have enough time to go
around and give each dog enough time or attention… so every time after Puppy Kindergarten
I had to work harder with her to “undo” the negative influence she got from the
naughty puppies. So needless to say, we are back to homeschooling our puppy. She's growing up nicely, as you can see.
Look how much Lucy has grown in just five months!
